Railway-car truck



Dec. 11

J. R- CARDWELL RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Filed AUB 51. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Dec. l1, 1928.l

J. R. cARDwELL RAILWAY CAR TRUCK 2..Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 31. 1927Patented Dec. 1l, 1928i.

UNITED STATES JAMES R. CARDWELL, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAILWAY-CAB TRUCK.

` Applimitionl lel August 31, 1927. Serial No. 216,512.

The invention relates to railway car trucks of the type in which thetruck bolster is yieldingly supported in part by friction elements.

' The object of the invention is to relieve, 1n great measure, the sideframe of the truck y from the spreading action of the friction ele-`ments; and it consists in a structure as hereinafter described and asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of the car .truck embodying the invention; A

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical longitudinal section of the truck sideframe, some parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a detail section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 4 are views in perspective of the several movable friction elementsof the device; and

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the tray.

containing such movable elements.

The device is, in many of its features, like that forming the subject ofmy application Ser. No. 216,511 filed concurrently with thls;

-' the essential difference being that in the present instance thestationary wedging elements are carried by or, as shown, incorporatedinto a tray of sufficient strength to sustain all or much of the lateralstresses transmitted through the movable wedgingelements.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown at 10 the side frame, inarch form, of a car truck, and at 11, 11, a pair of supporting wheels.The truck bolster of the car is shown at 12, and, as usual,each of itsends is supported by springs 13, the bolster having vertical movementbetween a pair of columns or guide bars 14, 15, which form parts of theside frame of the truck.

In practice heretofore revailing these springs have been. seateddirectly Aupon the lower arch 16 of the truck, which connects the lowerends of the columns 14, 15. The present invention provides for theintroduca tion between these springs and the member 16 of a series ofwedging elements.

Such elements comprise a tray 17, of suitable form to iit between thecolumns 14, 15, and to rest upon the member 16, being held in place asby means of downwardly projecting flanges 18, which embrace the sidemargins of this member.

The inner face of the end walls of the tray are inclined, as shown at19, to form wedge faces. Seated within the tray are a pair of wedgeblocks or bars 20, 21, which, in crosssection, take the form of invertedtruncated cones. These elements 20, 21, form the seats for the lowerends of the springs 13.

A pair of blocks 22, 23, triangular in crosssection, and preferablyequilateral, are interposed between the members 20, 21, bearing,respectively, against the inner inclined face of each. Interposedbetween, and bearing directly upon the elements 22, 23, is .a doublefaced wedge element 24, having an upwardly pro'ecting stem 25, whichextends into a poc zet 26 formed ina rib 27 depending from the bolster12. A spring 28, here shown as being in leaf form, is interposed betweenthe upper end of the stem 25 and the inner end of the pocket 26.

In the normal position of the parts, as

shown in Fig. 2, the flattened shorter or end faces of the elements 20,21, are seated upon the bottomof the tray 17, their outer inclined facesresting against the inclined faces 19 of the tray; the wedge elements22, 23, are seated upon the bottom of the tray, each engaging aninclined face of one ofthe elements 20,' 21; the wedge element 24 isseated against the adjacent faces of the elements 22, 23, and the spring28 urges all of these wedge elements into close contact.

Any slight shocks in vertical direction will cause the relative approachof the members 12 and 16, correspondingly compressing the springs 13.Shocks which are of sufficient force to completely compress the spring28 move the element 25 downwardly, thereby spreading the blocks 22,23apart and forcing the blocks 20,- 21, upwardly, by a wedging action,against the resistance ofthe springs 13. When the member 24 engages thebottom of the tray 17, further downward movement of the bolster 12 isarrested. The parts are so proportioned that the possible downwardmovement of the bolster is within the compressive limit of thesprings'13,thereby relieving them from full compression, and hencegreatly reducing the tendency to impart to them a permanent set. v

.The tray "17 may t snugly between the columns 14, 15, but inasmuch asin the manufacture of devices of this kind machining is to be avoided,itbecomes impracticable to insure positive engagement of the ends ofthe.

tray with the columns. The tray is made of sucient strength to resistlateral stresses im- Upon the recoil the springs 15 return all of themovable wedging elements to their normal position, as shown in Fig. 2.

The stresses of the more severe shocks are largely absorbed by thefriction between the several wedge faces and between the blocks 22, 23,and the bottom of the tray. The lateral stresses due to the spreadinaction of the central member 24 are resiste by the side and bottom websof the tray 17.

The described embodiment of the invention is simple and eiiicient, butit may take various other forms, as for adapting it for use inconnection with other types of truck frames.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a car truck, an end frame, a bolster, springs for supporting thebolster, a. pair of wedge blocks havin backwardly and upwardly inclinedWe ging faces carried by the frame, means connecting such blockstogether to resist spreading stresses, double faced wedging elementsengaging such faces and forming seats for the springs, a pair oftriangular wedge blocks each engaging a face of the last named blocks,and a spreading wed e interposed between the triangular bloc s andhaving a stem engageable by the bolster.

2. In a car truck, in combination, a frame having columns and a lowerarch, a bolster slidingly engaging the columns, a tray supported by thearch and having upwardly and outwardly inclined wedginff faces adjacentto its ends, a pair of double faced wedge blocks engaging the wedgingfaces of the tray, a pair of triangular wedge blocks seated in the trayand engaging respectively the first named blocks, a double faced wedgingelement interposed between the triangular blocks and having a stemengageable by the bolster, and springs reacting between thebolster andthe first named blocks.

3. In a car truck, an end frame, a bolster, springs for supporting thebolster, outwardly and upwardly inclined wedging faces carried by theframe, double faced wedging elements engaging such faces and formingseats for the springs, a pair of triangular wedge blocks each engaging aface of the Iirst named blocks, and a spreading wedge interposed betweenthe triangular blocks and having a stem engageable by the bolster, and aspring interposed between the stem and the bolster.

4. A tray for containing a system of wedging elements in a railway cartruck and having upwardly and outwardly inclined wedging faces.

' In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

JAMES R. CARDWELL.

